Racing Down the Track

There’s something special about car racing.  Unlike running, horse racing, boat racing, and most other forms of racing, car racing isn’t just going straight as fast as possible (well, usually).  Car racing has uphills and downhills, sharp lefts and sharp rights, speeding up and slowing down, blocking and passing.  That’s why you’ve never seen a running video game, but car racing games line the shelves.

If you like cars (in other words, if you are male), you’re in the right place.

This photograph of two racing cars flying down the track is art.  Both cars facing us, the viewers, one in the foreground and in focus, the other in the background and blurred, show clearly the element of competition, windshields reflecting the evening sky and sparkling headlights bringing in the element of beauty.  This isn’t just a practice round with a single car.  It’s a race.

It’s evening, the track is getting darker, and the cars have their headlights on.  The reflection of the leader’s headlights on the skid marks on the road highlight the difficulty of rounding that particular corner.  It’s a sharp, downhill lefthand turn just coming out of an uphill.  If the racers slow down too soon, they risk being overtaken on the outside.  If they slow down too late, they risk going off the track on the right and being overtaken on the inside. 

The BMW trailing the Porsche is in a threatening position in the photo.  Though it is blurred because it’s in the background, it’s facing us, headlights on, right behind, not forgotten.  It’s headlights are flattened, it’s edges square, it’s body short and wide, it’s spoiler low.  Red, white, and black paint mean professional business, not fun and games.  Simple black mirrors are to see behind it, no more, no less.  It’s here to win, and it’s not happy that it’s behind.  The shape of the BWM gives is a menacing look, with two grills between the headlights like two large nostrils, as of an angry buffalo breathing heavily as it charges down the track, ready to angrily take advantage of any slight mistake the Porsche makes and pass. 

The Porsche has a classier appearance, almost as though it is there not to win, but to show off.  A green body with yellow stripes from the front below the hood to the rear across the top of the car stands out as fashionable.  Round headlights and rounded curves make its appearance easy on the eyes.  The elegant yellow mirrors might be there for the driver, or maybe they are for the spectators to enjoy looking at, like shiny, gold, dangling earrings.  A tall body stands high, like a model on a runway.  A high spoiler that’s wider than the body of the car sticks out like a feather in the model’s hat.

Looking at the track, the BMW seems to fit in.  Black tire marks on the inside edge of the turns and the skid marks on the track are dirty.  The red and white paint on the edges along with the black tar of the track match its color and racing first appearance.  The gray, rusted and mismatching barriers around the track keep the cars from flying off at high speeds and crashing into the spectators is there for a single purpose, like the charging buffalo, and that purpose not to be eye candy.  The only part of the track that matches the Porsche are the rounded curves. 

There are so many parts of car racing that can capture ones interest: the challenging tracks, the fast overtaking, the stylish machines, the skilled driving, the high speeds, the technical engineering, the powerful sounds.  It is something unique and captivating, unlike any other sport.

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